Winemaker Phil Coturri to be celebrated at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn event

Rossi Ranch is a historic vineyard in Sonoma Valley, one that has been farmed organically for 15 years by the legendary viticulturist Phil Coturri.

To celebrate Coturri and the benefits of organic farming, people will gather at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn on April 1 for the first “April Phil’s Day.”

The event will unfold with tastings of the bottlings produced from Rossi’s organic grapes. It will feature seminars, too, which will no doubt ignite a lively debate over the pros and cons of organic and conventional farming.

Sam Coturri, organizer of the event, is the director of client relations for Enterprise Vineyards and the managing partner of Winery Sixteen 600, both in Sonoma. He has farmed organically with his father, Phil, for decades.

At Rossi Ranch, a certified organic vineyard, they harvest between 120 to 130 tons of grapes, Sam Coturri said.

“It has been a joy watching the soil and ecosystem of the Rossi Ranch return to vibrancy,” he said. “The fruit can reach peak ripeness more evenly.”

Conventional farmers, Sam Coturri said, are missing the opportunity to leave the land in better shape and to connect with potential customers, people who care deeply about mitigating or avoiding environmental harm.

For more than 40 years, Phil Coturri has shunned chemical fertilizers and synthetic herbicides. Instead he has favored cover crops and integrated pest management, an eco-friendly approach to solving pest problems while minimizing risks to people and the environment. Through his company, Enterprise Vineyards, Phil handles farming for 30-plus Napa and Sonoma County vineyards which cover nearly 1,000 acres.

But with all the labels floating around related to unconventional farming, the sustainable farming certification has a downside, too, Sam said. It has actually harmed organic farming.

“Frankly, organic viticulture has been set back by the sustainable certificate that allows the use of glyphosate (the main ingredient in Roundup),” Sam said. “This has done a disservice to customers, vineyard workers and the environment in general.”

In 2018, the Sonoma County grape growers treated 55% of the vineyard acreage in the county with nearly 48,000 pounds of glyphosate, according to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.

Karissa Kruse, president and chief executive officer of the Sonoma County Winegrowers, said she stands firmly behind the sustainability certificate. While acknowledging it does allow the use of Roundup, along with other chemicals, Kruse said, “We respectfully disagree with Mr. Coturri’s opinion. When we launched our commitment to sustainability, glyphosate was used on almost every acre in Sonoma County. With our commitment, education and focus on continuous improvement, we have seen a dramatic drop in the use of glyphosate. There’s no reason this trend won’t continue.”

In 2015, 93,006 pounds of glyphosate was used on 59,435 acres, according to the Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner and annual pesticide use permits. Six years later, that figure had dropped to 43,758 pounds used on 23,346 acres.

It’s possible, Sam said, that in the future most of the vineyards in Sonoma County will be farmed organically. But only if consumers demand a ban on glyphosate, he said.

Smaller, artisan wine producers are moving in this direction, Sam said, because it’s what their customers want and because it makes better wine.

“There are large appellations in Europe that are 100% organically farmed,” Sam said. “Could that happen in Sonoma County? It will take time, patience and consumer demand to push the larger conglomerates in that direction.”

You can reach wine writer Peg Melnik at 707-521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.